ELEMNT ACE Wind sensor and Wahoo Wind Dynamics

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What is the wind sensor?

ELEMNT ACE possesses a wind sensor, a front-facing air pressure sensor, enabling cyclists to measure the effects of relative air resistance in real time. Above a certain threshold, the ACE will present Air speed -- the speed of the air calculated from the air pressure experienced by the air pressure sensor as a function of the bike's current speed and a variety of wind conditions (headwinds, tailwinds, or the effect of drafting behind another cyclist.

Air speed = bike speed +/- ‘wind’ conditions (headwind/tailwind/drafting benefit)

  • Example 1 -- 
    • You are riding at 20 mph. (Bike speed = 20 mph).
    • There is a 5 mph headwind.
      • Air speed = 20 + 5
      • Air speed = 25 mph
  • Example 2 --
    • You are riding at 20 mph. (Bike speed = 20 mph).
    • There is a 5 mph tailwind. 
      • Air speed = 20 - 5
      • Air speed = 15 mph
  • Example 3 --
    • You are riding at 20 mph. (Bike speed = 20 mph).
    • You are drafting behind another rider. There is a 5 mph draft benefit. 
      • Airspeed = 20 - 5
      • Airspeed = 15 mph

Wind zones -- AirBoost / Neutral Air / AirDrag

When coupled with bike speed ('regular' speed) data, the ACE can estimate the approximate speed impact of wind conditions (headwind, tailwind, or drafting benefit) and present a Wind zone –

AirBoost (Heavy / Light)

  • When bike speed is aided by a tailwind or reduced air resistance from drafting behind another cyclist
  • Bike speed is > Air speed

Neutral Air

  • When there is little to no headwind, tailwind, or draft benefit
  • Bike speed is  = Air speed

AirDrag (Heavy / Light)

  • When bike speed is hindered by a headwind
  • Bike speed is < Air speed

To simplify the experience and make the impacts of the data immediately accessible, we have developed a color coded system for the Wind zones described above.

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Why should you care?

In much the same way that you may know when you are pedaling hard or not, but a power meter records and presents a more precise, consistent, and thorough collection of data about your power output, the wind sensor can help you better understand the wind conditions both during and after a ride, to help you intuitively understand what you are experiencing when paired with speed, grade, and power data. Most importantly the Wind zone color coding helps make it immediately clear [1] when it's time to tuck into a more aero position when riding solo out in the open and [2] how aerodynamically effective your distance behind another rider is. This is particularly valuable when deciding whether burning the match to get back onto the wheel in front of you is worth it.

How it works

Installation

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In order for the pressure sensor to gather the most accurate data, the computer should be installed with the surface of the computer as close to horizontal to the ground as possible, ideally < 5* to horizontal.

  • From 0-5*, there is relatively little impact to air pressure data accuracy.
  • From 5-10*, air pressure data accuracy gradually degrades.
  • Beyond 10*, air pressure data and related wind/drafting values cannot be considered accurate.

An easy way to check the angle of your computer is to place your phone on the surface of the ACE screen and use the native Measure app for iOS or the third party Bubble Level, Spirit Level app for Android.

During a ride

During a ride, the estimated Airspeed value and Wind zone status are available for viewing in two places:

  1. As a customizable data field, Wind Air Speed, that can be added to any page that will accept a customizable data field. It can be found under Wind > Wind Air Speed.
  2. As a fixed position widget in the upper left section of the Map page when a ride has started and the Wind layer is toggled on. It is toggled on by default. To toggle it off, select the ... using the left front button, navigate to the map layers icon (bottom left), select it, and then select the Wind layer icon.
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The Airspeed data fields will display one of the following three states:

  1. -- with no Wind zone background color
    • any time your bike speed is < 3mph / 4.8 kph
  2. -- with a Wind zone background color
    • if your Airspeed is < 6.25 mph / 10 kph
  3. an Air speed value with a Wind zone background color
    • if your bike speed is > 3 mph / 4.8 kph and your Airspeed is > 6.25 mph / 10 kph

Because Air speed is measured by the pressure sensor at the front of the bicycle, and is impacted by your speed and relative wind conditions, in cases of heavy tailwinds or tailwinds + drafting, it is possible to experience a Wind zone color with -- while traveling at relatively high speeds.

  • Example 4:
    • You are riding at 20 mph (Bike speed is 20 mph.)
      • There is a 15 mph tailwind.
        • Air speed = 20 - 15
        • Air speed = 5 mph
          • The measured Air speed is below the 6.25mph, so a green Wind zone color will appear, but with dashes.

Post ride

After a ride, a summary of the time spent in each of the statuses is visible in the ride history details on both the ACE itself and in the Wahoo app. 

In the Wahoo app, the elapsed time and percentage of the ride in each Air speed state (AirBoost, Neutral Air, and AirDrag) can be viewed by selecting the wind icon under the Summary panel. The same time and percentages are further broken down in the Wahoo Wind Dynamics panel below.  You can also see a color coded Air speed status overlay or your completed route when you expand the map view (gray button in upper left corner) and toggle on the wind layer (button with wind icon).

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Care and Maintenance

  • Water and dirt will reduce the accuracy of the wind sensor.  If cleaning is required, gently rinse the wind sensor port with warm water at low pressure and then drain and allow to air dry.  A fan or hair dryer can be used on low speed/low heat settings to accelerate the drying process.
  • Do NOT use any compressed air, high pressure water, or physical objects to attempt to clean the sensor port, as these may damage the waterproof membrane protecting the sensor and computer internals.

Notes

  • The greater the instantaneous accuracy of your bike speed data, the greater the accuracy of your wind zone data. For this reason, we recommend the use of a discrete speed sensor where possible, rather than relying on GPS speed, which is derived from GPS location over time.
  • The air pressure sensor can only measure the impact of the fore/aft components of wind, so either a pure headwind, tailwind, or the proportion of a cross/quartering wind that has a fore/aft impact.
  • Because the wind sensor is located on the front of your bicycle, it cannot measure the effectivity of changes to your physical position/orientation on the bike (tuck).  What it can measure is the effectivity of your bicycle's relative position (lateral position and distance from) to a rider in front of you in reducing air resistance (using your relative position to maximize your draft benefit.)

 

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